You aren't what you wear

I was having a phone conversation with a friend the other day. We were bouncing ideas off each other, and he came up with a theory I did not agree with. He said "Scarface" and "The Godfather" have influenced fashion.\n"Look around," he said. "Everyone wants to be a thug and wear their suits like the ones in the 'Scarface' and 'The Godfather.'" \nWhen I got off the phone I thought about why I disagreed. Did I disagree because his statement was a little stereotypical? I don't know anyone who wants to be a thug. Or did I disagree with his opinion on the suit and how it became a part of street culture? \nPersonally, I think it was a little bit of both. In my opinion, the suit has always been a way for men to conceal certain things about themselves. If a man walks into a room in a good-looking suit, would you know if he was a cashier, a pimp, gangsta or top executive? Probably not, unless you are really good at being able to tell the difference between designer suits and not-so-expensive suits. \nThe suit is like armor in a society that revolves around looks. It helps men look respectable, no matter what they do or where they are from. Amy Spindler, fashion editor for The New York Times, believes that suits say little to nothing about the men wearing them. \n"If there is any music that could be ascribed to men in their conformist suits, it's the sort being piped into the conveyances lifting them to their offices," Spindler writes.\nThe suit has been adopted as the uniform of professionals. Most men wear suits on interviews, and it is a rule of fashion for a man to own at least one well-tailored suit.\nAccording to Lloyd Boston, a fashion writer, the suit was a tool used by black men to integrate themselves into white society. In a society where African Americans were made to feel inferior, the suit was a way of leveling the playing field. Owning well-made suit gave them a chance to look and feel respected.\nThe suit helps to conceal personal information about men, while exuding respectability. The suit is a perfect costume for men wanting to hide scandalous or illegal behavior. If drug traffickers or mobsters walked around with their pants sagging and a pair of Nike's they would have a greater chance of getting caught. Most people don't associate urban wear with class and distinction. \nA mobster can hide behind a suit. He can be in any part of town anywhere, and no one would give him a second glance. Why? Because he would be wearing a suit. Men of illegal professions wear suits because they want to look legitimate, not because it is fashionable.\nI believe the '"authentic" suit-wearers are the businessmen, the men who line Wall Street and have the corner offices. Pimps, gangstas and con men alike are trying to emulate them and not each other. \nA perfect example of the "trickle-down effect" is the zoot suit. The first zoot suit recorded was ordered by a man named Clyde Duncan in Gainesville, Ga. He ordered the suit because he wanted to look like Clark Gable's character, Rhett Butler, in "Gone with The Wind." There are scenes in the film with Butler wearing Civil War garb consisting of long coats and peg-legged trousers. The movie opened in 1939, and the first suit was ordered in February 1940, according to The New York Times. \nA year later, a picture of the suit was published in the Men's Apparel Reporter, and spread like wildfire all the way up to Harlem. In 1942, during World War II, the WPB clothing conservation banned the suit because of regulations on fabric, but it was too late. The suit had caught on and bootleg tailors were catering to the young kids wearing it. It even spread to California, where it became popular among Latin and white gang members.\nThe zoot suit took on its own identity, but it was inspired by a man that embodied the essence of a respectable gentlemen. Portraying yourself as a classy businessman works much better than coming across as a common criminal.